A farmer who died after a train collided with his Land Rover on a level crossing had a conversation with a signal controller moments before the impact, it has emerged.

Colin Cameron, 60, died on February 7, 2016 when he drove his Land Rover over the unmanned crossing at Frampton Mansell near Stroud and was hit by the 1.36pm Paddington service at around 3pm just after it emerged from the Sapperton Tunnel.

Mr Cameron helped set up Stroudco in 2006 and produced beef and eggs on his smallholding at Viaduct Farm near the railway crossing where he died and friend Nick Weir of Stroudco called him ‘a very dear friend and neighbour’ who ‘was a very important part of our local community’.

Read More

Yesterday preliminary evidence was revealed at a pre inquest review held before the Gloucestershire Coroner, and Mr Cameron's family's legal representative said there was a conversation between Mr Cameron and a signal controller before the collision.

Colin Cameron, who died on February 7, 2017 when his Land Rover was in collision with a train on a railway crossing at Frampton Mansell

It emerged when coroner Katie Skerrett asked for submissions on whether to appoint a jury to sit at the inquest - a jury can sit if a death is work-related.

“It is work-related," said Sarah Le Fevre, counsel for Mr Cameron’s family. "The accident came about in the course of having an instruction given to him (Mr Cameron). Following the information provided to Colin, that it is safe to cross, the crossing happens immediately thereafter.

Read More

“It was not a work-related function of crossing the railway,” he said.

After the collision in which Mr Cameron and his dog died, the Land Rover was dragged up the track and the train stopped. Emergency services raced to the scene, while passengers were taken off the train by fire and rescue crews.

Ms Le Fevre told the hearing that the signaller should have known from three different ways whether it was safe to cross - but one of them was not working.

“There were three pieces of information which were available to the signaller or should have been,” she said.

“He would have known that there was a train in the immediate approach to the crossing.

“The train had been stopped at a red signal. It could not have covered the distance before Colin made his call and asked to cross.

“There were two different light systems available in the signal box. The red light system and the white light system. The red light system shows the signaller which bit of track the train is on - the extent to which Colin was within that distance and that information was known in the signal box.

“The white light system which was out of action at the time of the incident and was repaired immediately after the accident, tells a signaller whether a train is in the Sapperton Tunnel.

“We say that there are three ways that were, or should have been available to him.

“The safety of Colin was dependent on the signaller and he had that information available to him.”

British Transport Police at the scene on February 8, 2017 the day after the Colin Cameron was killed in a collision at Frampton Mansell (Image: Andrew Higgins)

Mr Crockford said there was one train with a very long gap between trains.

Read More

Coroner Katie Skerrett said she would hold the inquest in front of a jury, and err on the side of caution in doing so, before turning to the scope of the inquest hearing.

“It is not about examining safety of all crossings or this crossing, much as I would like to,” she said. “It seems there are three key issues. Firstly what was said between Colin and the signaller and what Colin said.

“Secondly, what information was given to the signaller, and thirdly the appropriateness of the signaller’s response. Was it appropriate to rely on the information provided by the user – Colin?”

The inquest hearing is set to be between April and June and evidence from witnesses, train passengers and the driver, and emergency and medical professionals is expected to be heard.